My Home Studio

  I wanted to show you all where the color happens.  This is my little home studio; my very own space.  I had been dyeing in my kitchen at our old house, not fun!    It was a challenge since it was so small plus we had to use the kitchen for actual food prep too.  When we moved to our new house we knew that needed to change.  We decided to convert the laundry room into my new dye room.  It is about 10'x15' space, just enough. :)
  I didn't have a big budget to spend on new equipment so I repurposed as much as I could..  Luckily my parents are home improvement junkies and renovated 2 of their bathrooms recently.  They gave me their old bathroom vanities to use as countertops. Also lucky for us is that we moved into a house that had old barns filled with goodies.

  All I had to buy for my dye table was an Ikea countertop.  I wanted it dark and waterproof so the laminate wood was a good fit.   I also needed a backsplash since dyeing is messy business.  I found an old plank and painted it with chalkboard paint.  It is perfect because it's a dark color and hides a lot of the messy splashes, plus I can write on it to keep track of my colors.  I also added a shelf above the whole length of the countertop for stuff I need, like my notes, tablet, and ipod.  I found the brackets and shelf in the barn too!  I added some under cabinet lighting we had from our old house.  You can't have too much light!
  I found another set of shelves in the barn and added them to the side.  This area is for my notes, drink, towels, anything really.

  I added a few decorations.  I'm still working on adding some pictures and curtains on the windows.

The sink is a one basin laundry sink from Home Depot.  I rinse and soak fibers outside so this sink is only used for dyeing, as you can tell.  It's a mess. :)  I added an old mirror above the counter for extra light from the window across the way.

This is the other old vanity my parents gave me.  I weigh fibers here and store my dye powders on a small bookcase I had.   I have plenty of storage for all my materials, it's so nice!

  

This antique yellow enameled table was also found in the barn.  I just thought it was so cute so I had to have it in the studio.  I pack orders here. :)

Just outside on the porch is where I do my rinsing, soaking, and drying.   I was resourceful and made my own wash/rinse area using Ikea bins and an old metal cabinet.   I will probably upgrade to a free-standing double basin laundry sink someday.  For now, this works just fine.

I still have some things I'd like to incorporate in my little studio.  I'm proud that I was able to make it work on a small budget.  The only new purchases were the sink, chalkboard paint, and black countertop.  It's been working great so far!  I've got lots of storage space from the vanities and shelves.  There is also a closet and overhead cabinets in this space.   I'm so thankful to have a dedicated space for dyeing and storage for all my supplies.  I love it here!

xo

Color Fun

  This app is great for dyers and all color lovers, Blendoku!  It is a free puzzle game where you solve colors and learn real color skills.  I like to play it in bed to wind down before sleep so I can dream up new colors to dye.  It's challenging and also serves as a refresher for color blending.  It's given me a ton of inspiration!

Match the colors so each blends with the next to get to the end color.  Drag colors from the top to their corresponding place on the grid where they blend.

Answer is a pretty display of how colors work together.

 You have to keep both the vertical and horizontal colors in mind so it can be a bit of a challenge on some levels, especially the master levels.

I've come across a lot of levels that I want to see on fiber.  There are also levels that I think I've already tried!  This one was pretty close to Bird of Paradise. :)

If you love playing with color like I do, you'll love it. :)  Have fun!

Fiber Family

  I wanted to share with you my little family of vintage Maria Helena Dolls.   They were handmade in Portugal and have the cutest details, all fiber related of course! 

 

 

 

 

 

I keep them right above the sink in my dye studio.  They make me happy. :)

 

 

Fiber Club, Behind the Scenes

 I love being able to offer a fiber club.  I'm grateful for each and every member, past and present.  If you've been in my fiber club you may have wondered once or twice (or many times), "why the heck does she take so long?!".   Well, I ask myself that same question every shipment.  So this last round I tried to calculate how long a single braid takes from start to finish.

First is the weighing out of fibers.  I dye in 1 lb dyelots (4 braids at a time).  This step is pretty fast, I'm guessing 2 minute on average for a single braid.  (2 mins total so far) 

I did a hand-paint technique for this one so it gets soaked while I mix up dyes.  I make up a concentrated stock of primary colors and start mixing those to get the colors I'm going for.  I wanted 9 unique colors for the colorway and mixed enough dye for 3 lbs (12 braids) each mixing session due to my counter space.  This takes quite some time, average 45 minutes to 1 hour to mix up...so let's guess 5 minutes per braid. (total 7 mins so far)

The next step is getting the fiber out of the soak bin, and setting it up for dyes.  Dye is applied carefully, I'm very meticulous with this step so it takes me a while.  I'm thinking a 1 lb batch averages 45 minutes, possibly an hour if it's superwash.  (total time per single braid so far, weigh, mix, prep, apply: 20 minutes)

After all the dyes are on, they are heat-set on the stove.  I'm not counting the heat time since I'm usually working on the next batch while it's being heated.   (I heat it for 1 to 1.5 hours,  real slow)

Fiber cools overnight, then it's time to soak, rinse, and hang to dry.  I let it soak for a while but the actual handling of fibers is only about 5  minutes.  I do other things while it's soaking.  ( total: 25 minutes)

They dry on the drying rack for 24 to 48 hours.  I'll leave drying time out of my labor equation...it's not like I sit there and watch it dry. (though I do check on it often and make sure the colors came out right)

The next part is braiding.  I probably shouldn't count it in my labor time but I'm going to.  I put a big ol' pile on my couch, turn on the tv, get a glass of wine, and start braiding.   I love my braid nights. :)  The pic below is about 6 lbs, I think.  I'll do this 5x's for a club color.  I'm going to estimate 4 minutes each braid.  Yes, I have gold-veined mirrors and a tufted naughahyde sofa...by choice.  I'm nostalgic like that.  (total time so far:  29 mins)

pile of fiber ready for braiding

 Next step is getting my wrap station together and making presents. :)  I ran out of tissue paper but have 1000's of purple bags so I figured I'd finally use them.  Not as present-like but I hope everyone loves what's inside.   I tied it up with my own handspun.  

ready to wrap

wrapping station

almost there!

The presents are lined up and ready to be packaged for shipment.  (time for wrap adds a few, total : 33 minutes per braid)

The next step is to get all the shipping supplies ready to go.

happy bees

labels printed

a little thank you

packaging

ready to drop off

Total time for each braid is at about 38 minutes per braid (I added 5 minutes for packaging),  not including dry time, heat time, and getting interrupted by kids to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  I was surprised and thought it would be more like 20 minutes tops.  With calculating the actual time it truly takes, I should be able to knock out a whole club color, working full time, in about 2 weeks.  I average 2 to 3 weeks so I'm doing ok.  :)

    It's interesting for me to see how it all adds up.  I've never really thought about how many hours it takes since I work when I can, a little here and a little there, the entire day between homeschooling and traditional mom stuff.  I thank my lucky stars that I'm able to do what I do, I absolutely love it!

A big hug and thank you to all the fiber club members over the years.  I'm looking forward to another year creating these extra special colors. :)

    

Happy 2014!

Happy New Year!  I'm looking forward to 2014 with lots of goals I hope to accomplish.  The goals I've set for myself are pretty doable and I'll hopefully enjoy doing them.  

Here's just a few I have in mind:

Work on a set schedule every day.

Get out with my kids more often.

Try new recipes and bake at least once a week.
(My attempt at a cherpumple)

Do a P52 of my kids and make a photobook at the end.
(p52= post a photo a week)

Start a vegetable garden.

The list goes on.  I'm looking forward to 2014.
Happy New Year!

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New Dye Studio

  I'm all settled in the new studio, finally!  I still have lots of projects for the space but it's functional.  My backsplash is a plastic dropcloth (for now), my rinse tubs are ikea storage containers, and the faucet is way to close to the wall that my knuckles hit while turning.  But I'm loving every inch of this new space!!  I have sunlight, a breeze, and most  important...space!!  My very own space I don't have to share with anyone.  My family loves it too!  No more putting off dinner because I'm using the kitchen.   Our dining table is free of wool and packing supplies,  no more wool boxes in every corner.  It's heaven!   One of my new favorite spots is where I package everything.  The table faces out to a big window where I have a perfect view of our olive tree and lemon tree.  It makes me happy. :)

Pardon the bad photo, I need a new phone with a nicer camera.

I found this cute vintage table in our barn, then added in some of my own found treasures. :) 

PS.  Please feel free to follow me on instagram, though it's mostly my house and kids.  I'll try to take more fibery pics though, promise!  I'm Laursbee :)

Dreams Evoked

  I recently had the privilege to dye up a special colorway for a co-op group (Thanks Kim!).   They gave me this picture for the inspiration.  Isn't it gorgeous?!

I knew I wanted to do something more organic feeling than a hand-paint so I chose to use a low immersion kettle dye technique.  This takes quite a bit longer than a regular hand-paint, but the lovely ladies gave me time to create.  (Thanks for your patience co-op'ers!)

The first step I took was to bring out my big stainless steel brazier pot.  You can use bus pans, or regular dye pots too.  I like this pot because it has a lot of surface area and it's shallow so it doesn't get too heavy.  I added some water (room temp, about 3" of water) and 1 Tb citric acid.  I'll be dyeing 8 oz.  :)

Next add some fiber!  This is 8oz of superwash merino.  I made a vertical pattern here and made sure to scrunch it up!

Then I mixed up some of the undertones I spied from the inspiration pic.  This step takes practice!  I used acid dyes, the cool primaries, in a stock solution to get the colors I wanted.   If you're a beginning dyer I highly recommend buying cool and warm primaries only.  Not only will you save money but you'll learn valuable knowledge on how colors mix and mingle.  The colors here are just the first "glaze" of the colorway.  I mixed up a lime green, teal, sky, periwinkle, and mauve.  Notice the new bright shiny Sham-wow!...I brought that out just for you.  (all of my other ones are mud-colored due to the countless amounts of dye they have splashed on them.)

  Next, I poured these colors over the fiber, no heating has been involved yet!  I want these to travel and not set right away.  I made sure to put specific colors next to each other to avoid muddy colors.

  Then, put on the lid, and crank up the heat to low/med, you're going to want to do this slowly.  20 to 30 minutes is a good time to let this part stew.  It should be a little steamy for the next step!

  Next, I mix up some of the more vibrant, saturated colors.  I chose dark green, teal, deep turquoise, and violet.  (sham-wow not looking so nice now).

  I added these darker colors in between my base colors.  Sorry for the terrible pic, it's hard to dye and take pics at the same time!  I just pour it on, no poking or pushing fiber around. :)  The dyes will make up their own mind on how they want to mix, it's best to let them play.   And it's always important to think about the colors you're pouring next to,  you don't want icky colors popping up.

The pot now looks like this! Ooooo, I'm going to like this one!

Put the lid back on and steam a bit longer so those darker dyes will set, like 15 minutes (or more if needed).

After the 15 minutes make sure your water is clear.  If it is, it's done! 

Let it cool for a few hours.  When it's cool enough to handle, I grab a piece of nylon netting from a bolt to keep it all together.

Scoop it up!   Only a tiny bit of dye to tint the water a pale aqua, it's ok.  Turquoise is impossible to exhaust!   Rinse and dry.

The result!

Dreams Evoked!  I hope you all loved yours. :D  It came out differently on each type of fiber, some had more of the pale undertones showing, some were darker;  that's the beauty of hand-dyed!  

xo